


Try It for Size

by endemictoearth



Category: My Mad Fat Diary
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-05
Updated: 2015-10-05
Packaged: 2018-04-24 20:44:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,627
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4934623
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/endemictoearth/pseuds/endemictoearth
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A ‘what if’ inspired by seeing a few pics of Rae trying on that red dress from series 1.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Try It for Size

**Author's Note:**

> Just a little glimpse that sticks pretty close to Rae’s pov, so you have to kind of imagine what Finn’s thinking. ;)

Rae took a deep breath and slipped the size 18 dress over her head. After struggling for a minute or two, she figured out which cut outs were for her head and arms and which were just decorative.

She stared at herself in the mirror: hair wild from her tussle to get into the damn thing, cheeks pink from the same. She technically fit in the thing, but it was touching her skin everywhere, and she wasn’t the type to wear things to show off her curves. She was all about minimizing attention. And even though she’d thought she wanted to look like a girl, she just couldn’t imagine having the courage to go out in public with this dress putting nearly everything on display. What was she thinking? She  _was_  just one of the lads. To try and be anything else would just be ridiculous.

Just as she was about to pull the frock off over her head and admit defeat, a familiar, loud, insistent beeping started up.

A saleswoman came into the back and shouted, “Everyone out, ladies! Fire alarm!”

Rae stared up at the ceiling.  _REALLY?_  she asked the universe.  _Twice in a month? I don’t think this has ever happened to anyone twice in their LIFE!_

“Yeah, I’m just changin’ into me own clothes!” she shouted back, trying to whip her jeans right side out.

“You can come back for your clothes in a minute, dear. This is a required drill. Ever since someone set off the alarms in the shop up the street, we’ve all been told we have to have these.” Rae’s eyes widened as she heard the key turn in the lock of the changing room.

“But—“ Rae was cut off by the woman shushing her and guiding her out of the store by the elbow.

There were no inflatable crocodiles to cover her shame at this upmarket store.

She tried to cower near the door, to be the first one back in after the allotted time, but the woman kept her walking across the street. “We need to be a safe distance from the entrance,” she explained.

Rae nodded, breathing deep and even, counting in her head. Her eyes darted all around the high street for Big G and his twats, but for once, fortune seemed to be smiling on her.

That is, until someone coughed deliberately behind her. She tensed up, warily glancing over her shoulder.

Her eyes grew wide with shock, then she closed them to cover the eye roll of embarrassment and exasperation. Finn fucking Nelson. Of course. The sexiest, moodiest git in the gang had to saunter by at this precise moment, didn’t he. It was bad enough that Archie had seen her in the street in a bikini top and blow-up crocodile (or was it alligator?-she could never be sure the difference), but at least he was nice about it. Finn was sure to be a prick.

“Alrigh’, Rae? Wh-what’re ya doin’ out here?” She tried to detect the mocking in his voice, but he just sounded surprised.

She huffed out a sigh of annoyance, tightening the arms crossed in front of her as much as she could. “I was … oh, never mind.” She looked away, wishing the street would open up and swallow her whole, or that Finn would be struck by lightning and and suffer minor memory loss and have to regrow his stupid eyebrows from scratch. She just didn’t want him blabbing to the gang. But then, one was lucky to get two words out of him, and she’d gotten almost ten.

Finn cleared his throat. “Sorry for askin’, I guess,” he mumbled.

Rae looked up at that, not expecting an apology. He was biting the inside corner of his lip, gazing down at his shoes. Probably felt embarrassed on her behalf. God this was awkward. She’d fantasized about him bending her over a table in a centurion outfit, but he wasn’t likely to dream about her in this blood clot of a frock that showed every glob of her blob. Who was she kidding? He wasn’t likely to dream about her, whatever she wore.

She sighed testily. “Nah, you’re alrigh’. Just waitin’ for the all clear.” Rae glanced back at the shop door, where she saw a manager-type in a tasteful skirt suit and painterly patterned scarf holding onto the door handle and looking at her watch, like she was counting down the time.

Another clearing of his throat made Rae attend him. “Th-that’s a nice dress,” Finn said, looking somewhere near where the hem ended quite a few inches above her knee. His eyes darted down to her feet. “Especially with the Chucks,” he smiled. When he glanced back up to her face, she thought his gaze might have tarried on its way.

She scoffed. “Yeah, right. I don’t think it’s  _quite_  me. I only tried it on as a kind of a joke, to see …” she trailed off for a moment, then blurted out. “But then the fire alarm went off and here I am.” She laughed half-heartedly, waiting for Finn to join in, but he didn’t.

“No, it’s nice!” he said. “It’s just … different to what ya normally wear, is all.”

“Understatement of the decade,” Rae muttered, glancing back to see if the door was open yet. Then, she joked a little louder: “I think I’m off trying on clothes for life now. Between this and the bikini … the universe is trying to tell me something: Give up!” Privately, she continued the thought that it was the same message she’d been receiving for a long time now.

Finn furrowed his brow and looked … confused? Skeptical? Annoyed? Yeah, probably annoyed that she was still talking. “What? Bikini?” His voice squeaked on the middle syllable, causing him to clear his throat yet again. “I—why would you give up?”

The manager opened the door to let her staff and the customers back in. Rae shook her head, pissed at herself for mentioning the other time, saying “Never mind; don’t matter. Uh, I’ll see ya later, prob’ly,” as she rushed back into the store.

Back in her own clothes, she felt a strange mix of relief and regret. She’d blown Finn off when he was being sort of decent. Maybe a little clueless, but surprisingly decent. Ugh, it was a lot easier when he was just eye-candy. But if he was going to turn around and actually be nice to her … that really wasn’t fair.

She tugged the hem of her t-shirt a little lower and reached up to smooth her hair. A long look at herself in the mirror and she shook her head. Like she told Kester, she wasn’t girly, nor was she likely to be. Another quick count to ten and round of deep breathing and she carried the dress on the hanger back out into the store. She glanced around and, when she didn’t see a place to put it back, stuck it back on the rack where she got it, leaving the size 18 in the front, in defiance of the strict smallest to largest display rule of the universe.

Hightailing it out of the store, she exhaled a sigh just outside the door, closing her eyes and tipping her head back.

Then, she heard it. Another signature clearing of the throat. He’d stayed? Why?

“Um, hey? I just … are y’alrigh’?” Finn ventured, voice quiet.

“Hmmm? Yeah, great. I mean, it could’ve been worse; at least the twat brigade didn’t witness this latest humiliation. Thanks for being, well, decent about it.”

Finn’s face settled further into its expression of consternation. “I dunno what you’re on about. I just did what … well, I didn’t even do anythin’, really.”

Rae turned to look at him, a small smile on her lips. “That was quite somethin’ on its own. Refreshin’, really, for a bloke NOT to broadcast his opinion about how terrible I look.”

“Rae … ” Finn started, stepping towards her. Now it was her turn to look confused.

“What?” she asked, chin jutting forward in defense.

He looked at her helplessly, like he didn’t know what to say, but felt he had to say something.

“Finn, don’t worry about it. Sorry to make you feel weird or whatever. You just ran into me at a bad moment.” She flashed him a quick smile and turned to walk home.

“Youdon’tlookterrible!” he said, the words rushing like a torrent off his tongue.

Rae stopped in her tracks, and glanced over her shoulder.

“You don’t. And you didn’t. At all. You look … well, in that dress, you were …” He shook his head. “I wasn’t lyin’. You looked really nice. Shit, ‘nice’ isn’t right. But … yeah.” He exhaled, breath a bit shaky.

Her lips quirked into a smirk; synchronized with her eyes narrowing in suspicion. “Finn, y’don’t hafta—“

“D’ya wanna help me with the tunes for the car?” Finn blurted out, cutting her off.

“Huh?”

“Just … I’m making a couple o’ mixes for the ride. Y’know, to Knebworth. An’ … much as it pains me to admit it … you do know your music.” He cleared his throat and shuffled his feet.

“Are you gettin’ a cold?” Rae asked, baldly.

“Wha’? No, don’t think so. I hope not!” Finn rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

“Hmmm, long as you’re not catchin’ … sure. I’ve not got anythin’ on this afternoon, since my shoppin’ trip was such a smashin’ success.” She rolled her eyes and Finn laughed, a look of relief eclipsing his previous concern.

“Great! I’ve got a notebook an’ stuff; we can make a list.” He adjusted his messenger bag as they naturally fell into step. Neither were exactly sure where they were going, but they were heading in the same direction.


End file.
